DISTILLERY
“In mashing we are laying down the precursors to allow us to build avours in the fermentation stages so that distillation then becomes a process of re ning and selecting from the avours we have built. Our process, like any distillery, is always riding between what we build and what we subtract, and becomes a very delicate balance when using triple distillation. “We have built in other capabili- ties – glycol-cooling to the wort cooler gives us extra temperature controls we otherwise wouldn’t have in the wooden washbacks, facility for double distil- lation, and our big bag intake station allows us to utilise different cereals and mash bills – and these will help us to lay down ‘blocks’ of avour using different approaches to create a diverse matura- tion inventory.” I thanked Lora for her tour of the distillery and welcomed her suggestion that I pay a return visit when the plant had bedded in more. She then intro- duced me to Karl Deery, a member of the Visitor Centre team, who took me on a quick tour of the visitors’ area. The visiting public As well as being a working distillery, a key part of the package is to display the ethos of the brand in a well-pre- sented visitor experience. It hits you the minute you walk through the door. The opening vista is of a welcoming and well-stocked open area where a visitor can spend an interesting couple of hours immersed in the history of distilling in the Liberties area of Dublin, together with the Roe and Co story – and its links to one of the ‘Big Four’, George Roe & Co. To top it all they get to produce their own cocktail. From the eastern windows the remains of the original George Roe distillery are visible in the shape of its preserved former smock windmill of St Patrick’s Tower, only 150 metres away. The windmill has a teal-coloured oxidised copper dome, and both it and the teal motif feature prominently throughout the distillery building and the visitors’ area. The windmill, and a 19th-century pear tree (the oldest fruiting tree in Ireland) growing at its base, feature on a side-label of the Roe & Co bottle, along with the teal colour which uni es all the labels. Karl was originally from Co. Monaghan and had started working for Diageo in the Guinness Storehouse.
The visitor experience
The elegantly-presented foyer area at the entrance
Again, he jumped at the chance to work in the new distillery once he heard about it. He showed me Room 106, named after the number of blends it took to perfect the Roe & Co blend; Caroline Martin had gone through a busy few weeks getting to that point. The purpose of the room is to offer a unique opportunity for visitors to learn how to taste and appreciate whis- key – and explore the fundamentals of what the blending team are aiming to achieve. The whiskey has a poached pear and apple avour with a buttery sweet note. There’s also a slightly spicy aftertaste for the discerning taster. Later in the tour, visitors can expe- rience the Flavours Workshop, which aims to demystify cocktail-making. Guests explore the ve pillars of avour; sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. They are Historic St Patrick’s Tower smock windmill, built in 1757 with attendant pear tree
The nal product, with the distillery in the background
also encouraged to generate their own cocktails with bespoke ingredients provided. At the end of the visitors’ tour is the Power House Bar. It has very much a 1930s art deco ambience and offers views of the preserved parts of the Guinness Power Station. The cocktails served here are designed by people who have worked in the best 50 bars in the world (according to Karl). Eighteen new jobs were created by Diageo’s very welcome addition to the Irish Whiskey landscape. My thanks to everyone who made my visit to Roe & Co such a memorable experience. Tours cost €25 per guest and includes whiskey tasting, a avours workshop and a complimentary cocktail in the Power House Bar. Tours run from 11am-5pm daily, seven days a week.
october 2019 I BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ● 27
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